Status Quo

The change was going on. In 1971, while Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath were competing to be considered the genuine pioneers of the hard rock genre, Status Quo was involved in an inner struggle to find themselves and their own sound. Nobody would have said then that a few years later, Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster, and John Coghlan would be fighting in the peak of European charts with the groups previously mentioned. Dog of Two Head was going to be their first step, a very powerful one, in their being considered a serious and significant rock band and not another easy-come, easy-go psychedelic group. This was their first record where the basic Wall of Sound formed by mighty guitar-bass-drums won the game to the more flavored sound of their beginnings. The band forsook psychedelic experimentation and delved into more blues-oriented rock rhythms. The record contained the re-vision of the Arabesque "Gerdundula," one of their most intriguing tunes, and a favorite in the concerts of years to come. They began to show that year their love for boogie rock in the long and powerful "Umleitung" and in "Someone's Learning," which proved to be one of the rare occasions the band touched on political issues (Irish terrorist quarrels, in this case). The album also contains the intimate ballad "Nanana," a two-minute résumé of the composition techniques and humble philosophy of Status Quo ("Writing words that I feel I should change/It's all right if they sound just like other songs/Making sounds that can go on and on/It's all right if you stay right on to the end"). Finally, Dog of Two Head includes one of the most brilliant compositions of the band, the stunning "Railroad." Maybe the record is not as representative of Status Quo's sound as Hello! or On the Level, but it keeps being one of the band's more unusual and inspired achievements. Status Quo were going to find their characteristic sound in their next effort, Piledriver, but never again were they going to sound as innovative and inventive as they sound here. [The 2003 version of the album includes bonus material.] ~ Robert Aniento, All Music Guide